


Silent Heart

by Wizzy



Series: Love Is A Crazy Thing (Haikyuu Love Stories) [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aoba Johsei, F/M, Injury, Karasuno, Mute - Freeform, Nekoma, Shiratorizawa, Volleyball
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-04-24 03:31:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4903945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wizzy/pseuds/Wizzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little trouble could never keep me away from what I love most.</p><p>Some rough things may have happened the past, but Kirari isn't about to let that stop her. But with an over protective teacher for a guardian, sometimes things are easier said than done. But once she gets to know a very interesting group of volleyball players, things start to get really interesting, especially a certain someone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

“We're glad to have you with us, Miss Takeda,” a man was saying. Kazuko Takeda was about to become Karasuno's newest teacher.

“I'm glad to be here.” Kazuko smiled at the man who had been leading us around the school. The school day was over, but some clubs were still hanging around. One of these clubs in particular quickly caught my interest. “I'm sure Kirari is too.”

To be honest, I didn't really feel good or bad about coming here. My attention was currently absorbed by several boys practicing in the gym. With the door wide open, I got a good view of them and found myself too distracted to even notice the man was calling my name.

“Oshiro?” the man called to me, but I had no answer for him. I _couldn't_ answer. So instead, I just kept staring at the scene that had captured my attention

“Kirari?” Kazuko asked in a gentle tone. When my eyes didn't leave the gym, she moved closer to see what had captured my interest so quickly. Upon seeing it, she gave a pained smile. “Oh, I see... volleyball.”

“If you like, you're more than welcome to join the team.” Looking back at him, I gave a sad smile. As much I would have loved to, I couldn't. “I'm sure the girls would be delighted to have someone with your skill.”

Kazuko flashed me a sympathetic look. “Kirari... can't play anymore...” she sighed. As a reminder to myself, I looked down at my wrist that was currently bandaged with athletic tape. For me it was just another thing that was taken away from me too soon. But even so, I'd never let it stop me.

“Well, even if you can't play anymore, that's no reason to torture yourself by keeping such a distance.” While the man may have been right, there wasn't really anything I could do. “If you like volleyball so much, why not help out the boys team? I'm sure they could use an extra hand keeping those boys in line. You wouldn't be able to play, but still you could be around what you love.”

Silently I looked at Kazuko. Would that really be okay? My guardian thought about it a moment. Slowly, she nodded. “I think that would be alright. Assuming Kirari doesn't play, of course.”


	2. Beginning Again

On my first day at Karasuno, I wasn't as nervous as I'd expected I'd be. The was my first time having to deal with my classmates knowing absolutely nothing about me, which could have been a bit troublesome. But even knowing that, I was really calm.

In a way, I was relieved that Kazuko hadn't ended up being my teacher. Or at least, not for most of my classes. Sometimes she tended to be over protective. Though considering our circumstances, it was understandable.

You see, my parents had been killed in an accident when I was in elementary school. Kazuko Takeda, a very dear friend of my mother, had taken me in after that. From there, she was kind of like a mother and a best friend. Of course, we'd decided not to say much about it to others, with her being a teacher and me being a student. People could easily get the wrong idea.

Glancing around, I made mental notes about each of the students in the class. Mainly it was whether or not to avoid certain students. One, a dark haired boy that was only ever referred to as Kageyama, seemed like he should be on the 'avoid' list. He certainly appeared to be the type who had a nasty temper and could be incredibly scary. But that was just a quick impression from a distance.

However, an overly energetic boy with orange hair seemed to irritate Kageyama quite a bit and still survived. Perhaps the initial glancing assessment was wrong? It was a possibility. After all, appearances can be deceiving. Or it was possible that the two were extremely close, making him more tolerant of the orange haired boy.

Regardless, I put Kageyama on the 'watch out for' list. His friend also joined him there. Don't get me wrong, they didn't seem like bad people, but the one was a little too energetic and Kageyama... well, he didn't exactly appear to be all that friendly.

Catching me staring, the dark haired boy gave me a curious look.  _Oops.._ I put on a friendly smile and gave a little wave. Surprisingly, Kageyama waved back. That caught the orange haired one's attention.

“Hi there!” he said, suddenly standing right in front of my desk. “I've never seen you before. Are you new?”

I nodded and I opened my notebook and quickly scribbled a sentence down. Before I had a chance to show him, however, Kageyama was at his side beginning to drag him away. “Shut up. You're bothering her.”

Had it really looked that way? Then I remembered they didn't know anything about me. I reached out and lightly grabbed his sleeve. He looked at me in confusion, but I just smiled and shook my heas, hoping he'd get that it meant that the boy wasn't a bother at all. To make sure he understood, I showed him what I'd written.  _My name is Kirari Oshiro. You?_

“Why didn't you just say that?” Kageyama asked, the confused look still on his face. “What are you, mute?”

Bingo. I nodded slowly as the boy's jaw fell slightly open. People often had strange reacts upon finding out. Especially considering my more social nature. A bit ironic for someone who can't talk, huh? But I hadn't always been mute.

I'd lost my voice near the end of my elementary years. No one could ever figure out how it happened, but I had a very foggy memory of it. Something hitting me in the head and then a very cloudy image of a creepy man in a white lab coat. But that memory may have just been a dream and I'd confused it with a memory. Regardless of how it happened, I could clearly remember waking up in a hospital room Kazuko by my side, my voice gone like it had evaporated into the air.

“I'm Shoyo Hinata!” the energetic one answered when Kageyama hadn't responded.

Shaking his head quickly, the other boy recovered from his shock to introduce himself. “Tobio Kageyama,” he said, looking slightly away from me.

After scribbling out some more words, I held up my notebook again.  _It's a pleasure to meet you. Tobio is a very nice name._ To make sure he knew I was being nice, I even added a smiley face.

“Hey! What about me?”

With a silent laugh, more was scribbled onto the page.  _Your name is cute, Shoyo. Like you._ I knew he'd take it differently than I'd meant it, but I didn't care. Really, I'd meant that he was cute in the way a little kid was.

His face lit up like a kid who'd just gotten the greatest toy ever known. “I'm cute!”

With another laugh, I wrote out another message for Kageyama while Hinata was bouncing of the walls with his excitement. _I totally just made his day._


	3. Making Friends

After the introduction with Tobio Kageyama and Shoyo Hinata, I didn't really talk much with them. Of course, mentioning that I'd prefer not to talk about volleyball sort of limited their range of conversation. But that was alright with me; it gave me a chance to meet other people.

When lunch time came, I ended up sitting with a small group of girls I'd met. “Did you really tell Hinata that he was cute?” one of them asked. I think her name had been Kanna.

I gave a silent laugh as I wrote down my words.  _I actually meant it as 'little kid' cute. But he looked so happy that I just couldn't tell him that. Don't you tell him that though. Might break his little heart._

My words earned me a laugh from the girls. From there, they asked all sorts of questions. Where did I go to school before? How did I like Karasuno so far? What clubs was I in and will I be joining any now? The questions were all basic and were mostly only required a few words.

When they finally noticed that my wrist was bandaged up, they didn't hesitate to ask. “What happened?”

It was an injury that I was a bit sensitive about. But I couldn't exactly avoid the subject completely.  _Just a injury from an accident. It's healed, but I keep it wrapped up to restrict its movement. Keeps it from getting worse._  I didn't go into any details on  _how_ it had happened. Didn't want to be reminded of that day. Bad enough that it made me miss a good amount of the previous school year.

“So are you finding your way around alright?” As the girl asked, I just nodded. So far I'd had little to no trouble at all.

_It's been easy so far. My old school was a lot bigger than this. But if you could show me where the boys' volleyball team practices, that would be helpful._

Being a lover of volleyball, I couldn't turn down a chance to be involved with it. Even if I couldn't play anymore, helping others to be the best they could be was the next best thing. All I could hope was that it wouldn't make me sadder being so close when I knew I'd never get to play.


	4. Volleyball

As I was waiting for the members of the volleyball club to show up, I took a moment to look around. It was just a normal gym, but something about it made me feel a bit sad. Maybe it was because of all the memories from my old school.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't even notice anyone behind me. “You must be Kirari Oshiro,” a boy's voice said. The owner of the voice looked like he was a third year. “I'm Daichi Sawamura, the team captain.”

I shook his hand before responding to him.  _It's very nice to meet you. I'm happy to be helping you guys out._

As he read my words, I heard him laugh a little. “I forgot that Takeda-sensei mentioned you couldn't speak.” Before I had a chance to ask, Sawamura answered the question on my mind. “He also said you used to play volleyball, but he didn't say why you quit.”

 _Let's not mention that I used to play to the others. Just say that I used to help out the team at my last school._ Sawamura raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it. He probably figured I had my reasons.

“Once everyone's here, I'll introduce you.”

 

It didn't take long for the team to show up. However, I was a little surprised to see a pair of familiar faces among the crowd. And that pair were even more surprised to see me here.

“What are you doing here?” Hinata was bouncing around like he had been every other time I'd seen him. “Did you get lost or something?”

I flashed him a smile as Sawamura began to explain. “Looks like everyone's here. Let's get started then.” With everyone lined up, I stood next to the captain, facing the rest of the team. Slowly, he introduced each of them. As he did, I made some quick notes.

 

_Chikara Ennoshita – 2nd year. Position: wing spiker. Seems like a very relaxed kind of guy._

_Kei Tsukishima - 1st year. Middle blocker. Seems like a bit of a jerk._

_Kazuhito Narita - second year. Middle blocker. Seems average, nothing memorable._

_Shoyo Hinata - 1st year. The energetic half of the pair I've already met._

_Tobio Kageyama - 1st year. This calm setter is the other half of the pair._

_Hisashi Kinoshita - 2nd year. Unmemorable wing spiker._

_Yuu Nishinoya - second year. An energetic libero. Seems nice enough._

_Asahi Azumane - 3rd year. According to everyone, he's the Ace. Seems scary at a quick first glance, but appears harmless upon closer inspection._

_Tadashi Yamaguchi - 1st year. Middle blocker. Appears to follow Tsukishima's lead. Unsure about when he's solo._

_Koushi Sugawara - 3rd year. A setter and a seemingly friendly guy._

_Ryunosuke Tanaka - 2nd year. Wing spiker. Seems to be similar to Nishinoya._

_Ittetsu Takeda (Itte) - club adviser. Kazuko's cousin._

_Keishin Ukai - the coach. Currently not present._

 

“How could you write all that already?” one of the boys asked. Looking at my notes and judging by his place in line, it seemed it was the one named Narita.

My answer wasn't necessary though, as Itte answered for me. “Kirari's a fast writer,” he said with a smile. “She lost her voice when she was young, so she learned to write fast so that she could still keep up in conversations.”

“This is Kirari Oshiro,” Sawamura said, finally having a chance to introduce me. “She's going to be helping out with practices from now on.”

That got a reaction out of Hinata. When we'd spoken before, I'd specifically asked that he not mention anything about volleyball. It only made sense that he'd be confused. “I thought you hated volleyball!”

Once more, Itte answered for me. “Kirari used to play. She loves volleyball but she quit because-” he instantly stopped as I gave him a glare.

Picking up on the fact that I didn't want it said, Sawamura spoke again. “Her reasons for quitting are her business. For now, she can't play thanks to her injury.” To support his statement, I held up my bandaged wrist. It actually was healed, but I wasn't supposed to be putting much strain on it. Better for everyone think it wasn't healed yet. “So for today, she'll be observing and finding out where our skills are.”


	5. Practice

Watching the boys practice, I was quickly able to pick up on some of their strengths. Of course, some of their weaknesses were quite obvious as well.

The little energetic boy named Hinata was incredibly fast and could jump. However, he seemed to have trouble when it came to receives. That would be a fairly simple fix, though it would take awhile. I could help him the way my father first taught me when I was a kid.

That reminded me of my father. Or, what little I could remember of him. I'd been really young then, so my memory was a bit fuzzy. But I could remember that he'd been the one to teach me to play and the way he'd taught me.

“You're not going to tell them, are you?” Itte sighed as we watched everyone else.

After having been raised by his cousin, I'd known Ittetsu Takeda most of my life. Over that time, we'd grown to know each other pretty well. Well... he got to know me, at least. So right now, he knew I was avoiding telling them something kinda might be important.

_It'll be better if they think I chose to quit rather than them knowing it was a forced decision._

Itte sighed again. He knew that once I'd made up my mind about something, I was even more stubborn than he was. And if you even knew the tiniest bit about him, you knew how persistent he could be.

I looked down at my notebook and began to write something. Being focused on what I was writing, I completely stopped paying attention to where the ball was. Needless to say, that was a huge mistake. One that I hadn't made since I first started volleyball in high school.

“Watch out!” several voices called out. I looked up just in time to see the ball flying right towards me. Acting on pure instinct, I did something I hadn't done in so long; I spiked the ball, sending it right towards one of the setters.

As my hand hit the ball, pain spiked through my wrist and through most of my arm. Instinctively I flinched, which definitely caught the team's attention. But before they had a chance to ask if I was alright, I just laughed and flexed my fingers to make sure no damage had been done. Waving it off, I let everyone return to their game.

After that, Itte kept an even closer eye on me. He was the only one who knew the truth about everything. The only one who knew about the injury that took away what I loved most; the one that knew how I'd had to leave the school I loved because the memories hurt too much.

As helpful as it was at times, having someone know all of my secrets was a pain in the ass. I wish no one knew. But of course, that's gonna be too much to hope for, isn't it?


	6. Secrets

By the time practice was over, I was quite impressed by some of their skills. However, even if they were pretty impressive, they still a long ways to go before they could compete with a school like Shiratorizawa or Aoba Johsei. But they still had time to improve.

As the team got things picked up and put away, I decided to use this as a chance to get more of a feel for Karasuno's players. Giving it a brief moment of thought, I settled on talking to the one who seemed the most approachable. Of the ones that weren't Kageyama or Hinata, who I had met earlier on in the day.

The lucky one ended up being the one who seemed kinda sleepy and calm. Well, the silvery haired setter might have been a good choice too, but he seemed like he was busy. Besides, I'd have plenty of time to get to know everyone. Though remembering names was the first thing I had to do.

I slowly approached and made sure my notebook was staring on a new page.  _You're Ennoshita, right?_ The boy nodded at my question.  _Yes! I'm starting to learn all your names. You're one of the second years, aren't you?_

Once again, Ennoshita nodded. “You're a first year, right?”

I wasn't completely sure how to answer that. Technically I was a first year, but this wasn't my first year.  _Actually, I should be a second year. I ended up missing a lot of time near the end of my first year, so I had to repeat it._

“Got sick a lot?” he asked in a polite tone. While being sick mat have been a much more common reason for missing school, that wasn't reason.

Deciding that I should at least be somewhat truthful, I revealed the real reason. Of course, I did leave out all of the unnecessary details.  _No. There was an accident and for a long time, I couldn't use my right arm at all. My left wasn't useful enough for me to keep up, so I fell way behind and got stuck being a first year for a second time._

Ennoshita looked like he wanted to ask about what I called 'the accident,' but if he did, he kept it to himself. Whether that was because he was afraid of the captain or if he figured I didn't want to talk about it, I had no idea. Probably didn't matter anyway.

Looking up, a saw a certain duo and smiled. Of all of the players, they'd certainly left the biggest impact.  _Hinata and Kageyama are nothing like I expected. That one quick they did was amazing._ I hesitated a moment before adding one last thing.  _Watching them makes me miss it._

“Miss what?”

_Playing volleyball. Itte and Sawamura mentioned that I used to play, remember?_

He nodded. “If you want to play, you should play.” If only it were so simple. With a silent sigh, I scribbled out an explanation. If I were going to hang around these guys, then they probably should know the truth. Of course, that didn't mean I had to like it.

_It wasn't my choice to quit. If I still could play, I never would have left Shiratorizawa._

Ennoshita's eyes widened slightly as he read the name of my former school. “You played for Shiratorizawa?” I only nodded in response. “Then why would you come to Karasuno and help us?”

It was no surprise that he'd ask a question like that, though I really didn't want to say much more.  _There were too many memories for me to stay there. And a sort of pushy guy who I kept rejecting. Besides, I already knew Itte and this place was different enough that it wouldn't remind me of anything._

While he was still reading the last thing I wrote, I thought of one last thing.  _Don't tell anyone what I said today._


	7. Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a bit of Kirari's backstory. Keep in mind that this will be referenced from time to time and that none of the other characters know of any of this yet.

From the moment I learned to walk, I was already chasing after a volleyball. My father had loved it and had been an amazing coach for a small middle school in Tokyo. I wish I could remember the name, but truth is, I was too young to remember things like that. But there was no way I could ever have forgotten what my father had taught me all those years ago.

I remember how he used to show me all sorts of moves. After each one, I'd ask what it was called. He'd end up showing each one to me many different times, making sure to lock it into my memory. The first thing he'd taught me though, were receives.

He had a special way of teaching me. Or maybe I'd only thought it was special, since I'd never seen anyone else do it. Dad would stand a couple meters away and throw the ball towards me; then I'd have to try to hit it back to him. At first I'd had trouble figuring out just what it was I had to do. But when I'd finally get the hang of it, he'd make it just a bit harder.

Sometimes, I'd watch his team practice, trying to learn everything I could by watching them. Sometimes, the middle school boys would let me play in a practice game with them. Being only a young elementary student, I couldn't compare with their height. But as any volleyball fan knows: there are positions that short players are best suited for.

Maybe that was the reason I played as a Libero when I finally decided to join my school's team. Though at that point, both of my parents had already been killed in an accident. Not long before that was when I'd lost my voice.

I'd always wanted him to watch me play in a real match. But even though my father never got to see me play, I still played my best. Even if he'd never see, I wanted to play well enough to make him proud. And what better way to make him proud than to play on his former school's team? Not the school he coached, but the school he went to when he was still in school.

Shortly after my parents' deaths, I moved in with a friend of theirs who was a teacher at Shiratorizawa. After that, I joined the girls' team as a Libero. Having gotten used to practicing with older kids, it had seemed so easy. Thanks to all my hard work, I soon had made my place as a regular.

Through volleyball, I made all sorts of friends. But the closer I got to my new friends, the further away my old ones became. Soon, I'd lost all contact with the boys I'd used to practice with before. Well, that was true for all but one. There was one person who watched me in every tournament, no matter how far we made it.

I'd never been able to say his name right, so I'd given him the nickname 'Momo'. By the time I would have been able to say his name right, I didn't have a voice anymore. So in the end, it had never mattered if I even remembered his real name or not.

But after the last tournament during my second year of middle school, I even lost contact with Momo. I never let it bother me though. That was just how life was. Something that's here one moment could be gone the next.

Once I'd started middle school, I kept playing as a Libero. Even though I was skilled, I never got to play in any matches. But there came a moment when all that changed. During a practice match, the regular Libero had gotten injured. Having no other choice, I was used instead. But that wasn't the end of it.

There was one moment when our opponent had forced our setter to receive the ball first. That meant that she couldn't toss the ball to the spiker. Unfortunately, no one on our team had any practice with tossing, Or so everyone thought. I'd used to toss for Momo when we'd practice, so I stepped in on instinct and tossed in place of our setter.

The looks on everyone's faces were priceless. Not once in any of our practices had I worked on anything outside of receives. I never mentioned practicing with Momo or that I knew anything other than Libero stuff. Needless to say, my team was shocked at this sudden revelation.

After that, I began playing as a setter. Though the more I played a setter, the more I began to change. I discovered that I loved to tease people. Of course, it was always done in a playful sort of way. I also became a bit arrogant when I was on the court, taunting the opponent and even openly letting them see the signals I gave my teammates. Not that the opponent could actually stop us anyway.

Third year of middle school, I was switched from a setter to a position the coach thought would be better. Though the reason it was better wasn't because I was better suited to the wing spiker position; it was to deceive our opponent.

I'd play it carefully, making sure to let the opponent believe that I was unskilled and so they would pay little attention to me. This allowed me to jump in when the time was right and show just how wrong they were. Of course, that wouldn't always work.

Outside of that, I also acted as a sort of second Libero. When ours wasn't there, I could have the others' backs. And if ever the setter got stuck with the first hit, I could step in and the ball to another spiker. In the end, I'd proven that I was worthy of the nickname my teammates gave me.

First year of high school, things went exactly like most of my third year of middle school. Though at that point, I'd improved considerably. But even with all the improvement, I didn't try to be one of those flashy sorts of players. No, I continued to keep up the act of Shiratorizawa's 'Guardian Angel.'

It was the name my teammates called me whenever they mentioned how I played. Normally something like that would be for a Libero, but that didn't matter. I watched their backs in every way that I could. And for me, that was enough to make me happy.

Though by that point I should have known that anything that made me happy would be taken away from me.


	8. A Cute Dork

The whole team seemed to be quite interesting. Some of them even reminded me of my teammates back at Shiratorizawa. Like Tanaka, who reminded me of Kaiya, my senpai and a pretty strong wing spiker. In fact, their personalities seemed almost identical. It was both comforting and sad...

As another day's practice began, I stayed back and observed again. Yesterday had given me a chance to see their skills, but today was for getting to know everyone. After all, you can't help someone to be their best if barely know anything about them. That was one of the things my father used to say a lot.

Today, my focus fell on two individuals. From what I could tell, they seemed like friends. Though the tall blonde one didn't seem to interact with anyone else other than the awkward one who appeared to be his friend. At least, any interactions with others weren't friendly ones. At most, they were fairly neutral. It was interesting, in a way.

As practice came to an end, I helped out the blonde's awkward friend as he gathered up the volleyballs scattered about the gym.

There wasn't really anything noticeably special about him. Overall, his skills were fairly average. Chances were he didn't play in matches all that much. But even if he wasn't the best, he always tried his hardest.

As we were finishing up, gave me a smile. “Thanks.”

 _Tadashi Yamaguchi was your name, right?_ The boy nodded.  _Mind if I ask you something?_

Instantly his smile faded. I hadn't even asked yet... “Please don't ask me about Tsukki...” Tsukki? He must have meant the blonde guy he was always with.

Putting on a smile, I scribbled down my question anyway. It's not like it was a bad question or anything.  _Actually, I just wanted to know if he's always a jerk to everyone._

Yamaguchi let out a small sigh. Just what had he been expecting me to ask? I'd just met them, so what was he thinking? “Tsukki's not that bad once you get to know him...” he said, his smile returning.

_I see. Guess that means if I want to be on his good side, I better talk to him, huh?_

“Yeah...” And there goes the smile again. Maybe talking about his friend was a touchy subject?

Now that I was a bit worried, I wrote down another question.  _Something wrong?_

Yamaguchi tried to avoid looking at me, but when my 'talking' relies on him looking at me, that is nothing but frustrating. “Nothing...” He was trying to avoid it and keep it to himself. That wasn't good. You should never keep your pain bottled up. Though I have been guilty of that myself, so I have no right to talk. “It's just... nevermind.”

He looked away from me. Whatever it was, it must be a bit of a sensitive subject. Or maybe he was just a sensitive sort of guy. That would have been a nice change.  _You can talk to me, you know. Maybe I can help._

I tugged at his arm to get his attention. That was when he finally gave in. “I... Every time a cute girl talks to me, all she ever does is ask about Tsukki...” he sighed, turning his head to look up at the ceiling. Yep, he was one of those more sensitive types of guys. Plus one point to Tadashi Yamaguchi. “Just once I'd like a girl to talk to me just because they want to talk to me...”

_Well, I can tell you that you're wrong. I'm talking to you because I want to get to know you. So it's not every girl._

For a moment, that brought a smile a smile back to his face. “You're right.” Then as he thought a minute, it faded into a doubting expression. “But how do I know you're not just saying that to make me feel better?” Plus one more point for him. The idea that he suspected that I was only trying to cheer him up was cute. So cute in fact, I couldn't hide the silent giggles that slipped out. “What's so funny?”

_You're a dork._

And now he was frowning again. “That's mean...”

But even if he thought it was mean, I still kept a smile on my face.  _I never said it was a bad thing._

Yamaguchi opened his mouth to say something, only to change his mind and close it again.

 _I'd choose a dork like you over a guy like Tsukishima any day. In fact, I did that today, didn't I?_ When I said it, I meant it. I'd known so many guys like his friend and not one of them had ever held my interest for long. But guys like him, they were something that always caught my interest. Though I'd met very few in my life. Maybe only one or two, if I'm being honest.

“Yeah, I guess you did.” And the smile's back with a laugh. Yamaguchi's smile was kinda cute. Well, Yamaguchi in general was kinda cute. Not to mention that he seemed like a pretty good guy when he was away from the tall blonde guy with glasses. The more I tried to talk with him, the more curious I became.

_I have an idea._

“Okay...”

_Let's have lunch together tomorrow._

Once again, my response caught him be surprise. Oh how much this guy was going to be... “You and me? Or do you mean you, me and Tsukki?” It was only natural for him to be skeptical of such a sudden offer, especially from a girl he'd just met. If what he said before and my assumption were both true, this had never happened before. At least, not unless the girl was interested in his friend.

_Your choice. It'll be whoever you want._

“You won't be disappointed if it's just me?”

_I'd prefer it._

Once more, it looked like I'd just made someone's day. Two days I'd been here and two days I'd made friends with just a few simple words. Karasuno might not be like my beloved Shiratorizawa, but I could already tell that I was going to like it here.


	9. Interesting

The next couple weeks went fairly well. I'd quickly gotten to know everyone on the team, though Tsukishima wasn't so fond of that. And now I'd been helping out with whatever I could whenever they worked on individual things.

When the libero, Nishinoya, noticed that I used my left hand whenever I showed someone a serve or a spike, things got a little difficult. I could have just claimed that I was left-handed, but I wrote with my right, so if anyone had noticed that, it could be a bit of a problem. Well, it was a problem if I didn't want them knowing about something I'd specifically avoided mentioning and obviously I didn't want to have to explain that.

So I simply claimed that it was to give them better practice. Left-handed volleyball players weren't very common, so it was harder to handle left-handed attacks because of the lack of experience with them. And thanks to that, the adorable little libero insisted that I do some left-handed spikes for him.

It took a little time for the setter we had helping us, Sugawara, to get used to tossing to me. Being unable to write things down in this particular situation, I had to try and give him hand signals. Like if I wanted the toss a bit higher, I'd point upwards and for lower it would be downwards. If I wanted it closer to the net, I'd point towards the next and for further it would be away. And if it was perfect, I'd just give a thumbs up.

Once we really got going, I started to mix it up a bit. I had Sugawara toss to different places and I'd simply match him rather than the other way around. That gave Nishinoya more useful practice. Eventually though, Sugawara and I had to take a break. We didn't have a seemingly limitless amount of stamina like the little libero.

As we took our break, I looked around at the other members of the team. Some of them appeared to have been watching the three of us. It shouldn't have been surprising; they didn't know anything about me or my volleyball skills. They didn't even know what school I transferred from.

For just a moment, my eyes met with Yamaguchi's. But as quickly as they met, he looked away. So he was watching me, huh? Don't tell me that the little cutie has a crush? It wouldn't have been surprising at all if he did. I mean, I am an attractive girl and we'd been spending lunchtime together almost every day for the past couple weeks.

That one little moment gave me an idea. Receiving a spike is easy if you don't have anyone trying to block it; so why not up the difficulty level? We'll throw in a couple blockers. They'd have to be the less experienced and less skilled ones or else Nishinoya wouldn't get practice. The blockers would simply be there to touch the ball.

After explaining the plan to the other two, we added two of the middle blockers to our practice. That ended up being the shortest one, Hinata, and the one who had barely gotten any time to play, Yamaguchi.

It was then practice got really interesting. Why wouldn't it be? I had an amazingly skilled libero, a great setter, an awesome but short blocker and a guy who had just simply caught my interest. Needless to say, Karasuno was certainly turning out to be a much more interesting place than I had expected.


End file.
